


A Precious Gem

by sattsuma



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bent Over Desk, Bruises, Emperor noncons Disobedient Subordinate’s Concubine, Intimacy - Rapist Plays with Victim’s Hair, Intimacy - Victim Forced to Get Rapist Hard Again, M/M, Rape Aftermath, Size Difference
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:15:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24762211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sattsuma/pseuds/sattsuma
Summary: Kouki thinks he's come to the imperial palace to meet his lover, one of the emperor's ministers. He doesn't know what will come before that.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 13
Kudos: 65
Collections: Nonconathon 2020





	A Precious Gem

**Author's Note:**

  * For [heavensblessing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavensblessing/gifts).



The imperial palace was beautiful, even more impressive than what the stories and paintings suggested. Kouki could not keep himself from staring about in awe, even though the attendant leading him walked quickly and the route they were taking through the crimson and gold-painted halls turned this way and that in sudden, unpredictable ways. It would be impossible, Kouki knew already, to find his way back on his own later. But surely it would not be so bad to wander lost amid such splendor. 

Minister Li had been summoned to court from the country estate where he and Kouki spent much of the year three days earlier. Kouki had not expected to see him again for some time, and it had been a happy surprise indeed when word had come that Kouki’s lover wished for Kouki to come and join him. 

If Minister Li had the time to see Kouki, and enough of the emperor’s goodwill to invite his own guests to the imperial court, it surely meant that everything had gone well after all. Minister Li was often at odds with the emperor and his closest supporters, and though Kouki did not know the details, he had understood that the business which brought Minister Li to court this time had been something particularly contentious. Part of Kouki had even feared the worst when Minister Li had been called away so abruptly, but now it seemed that he had worried over nothing.

Ahead, the attendant moved deeper and deeper into the palace. Kouki had never seen a building so large, not to mention the rest of the vast imperial compound that he had passed through already. They would arrive at their destination very soon, surely, and Kouki would be able to see Minister Li at last. He had tried to dress for the occasion, tying his hair back neatly and dressing in the coral-colored cape that Minister Li liked, but after all he had seen since his arrival he did not quite feel as if he measured up. Even the young man currently leading him appeared to be wearing something that would surely fetch enough money to feed a peasant family for a year or so.

No matter. If Minister Li had gained more of the emperor’s favor this time, he would be able to buy Kouki plenty of new clothes. The thought cheered him enough to distract him from his foolish awe of everything around him, as well as from the growing ache in his feet. Kouki’s shoes, while also the finest he possessed, had not been chosen with such a long walk in mind.

At last, the attendant stopped before a door indistinguishable from any of the others that lined the passage they had been walking down for several minutes. The young man stepped to the side, and gave Kouki a blank look. Kouki wondered for a moment whether he resented having to take time out of his day to escort someone as lowly as Kouki – the companion of a low-ranking minister with a poor reputation, and a foreigner besides – but that did not matter now. He thanked the attendant quickly and hurried inside the room. 

It was obvious from half a second’s glance that he had indeed come to the place where Minister Li was staying. The man’s inkstone and brushes – the finest ones, which were only brought out when he traveled and wanted to impress – were laid neatly on the low writing desk on one side of the room, and Kouki caught a glimpse of a familiar fur-lined traveling cape peeking out of a chest in another corner. And there in the center of the room stood a man, tall and broad-shouldered, and even with his back to Kouki it was obvious that it was…

Kouki froze, nearly slipping on the finely polished floor. The man standing before him was not Minister Li. 

As the figure turned towards him, Kouki realized who it was, and for a moment he felt his heart stop, his breath catch in his throat, every muscle in his body freeze as if turned to stone. Before him stood none other than the emperor himself. 

As quickly as he was able, Kouki dropped down into a hasty bow, but not before he noted the man’s stern features, the dragon embroidered across the chest of his robes. Kouki had only glimpsed the emperor once or twice in the past, from a great distance, but there could be no mistake at all. But it made no sense – why would the emperor be _here_ , in front of him?

_Where is Minister Li?_ a small voice in the back of Kouki’s mind questioned. 

He could not worry about that now. To concentrate on anything but the emperor – who was stepping even closer to Kouki now – would be to invite disaster. 

“Guangji.” The emperor’s voice was deep, each syllable deliberate. It was impossible for Kouki to grow more startled than he already was, but he felt a fresh jolt of apprehension all the same. The emperor knew Kouki’s name, though he spoke it the way that most other people at court did, instead of in the manner of Kouki’s faraway homeland. The emperor had been expecting him. 

“Your Imperial Majesty,” Kouki mumbled, dazed, too nervous to even contemplate looking up. 

A hand came down into his field of vision. Kouki took it, numbly – it did not feel right at all, but he could not think what else to do – and the emperor helped him to his feet. “Be at ease.” The emperor sounded almost warm now. They were close enough that Kouki could observe that the emperor was a little older than Minister Li, perhaps, but he still appeared strong and fit, even handsome. 

“I –“ Kouki swallowed. The emperor’s hand still rested gently on his arm. “Forgive me, I was not expecting…”

“You were looking for Minister Li.” Kouki nodded, feeling almost weak with gratitude that the emperor did not seem offended. “Of course,” the emperor continued. “I know that you are very precious to him.” 

Kouki nodded once more, though a part of him wondered: _Why would the emperor know about such things?_

The emperor brought his hand up, and stroked Kouki’s hair gently. As Kouki held his breath, he felt one of the silver pins that held his hair back being tugged away. It was the largest one, adorned with tiny gemstones, and his hair fell forward unevenly in its absence. 

“He spoils you, I think,” the emperor remarked. 

Kouki blinked at him, thrown off-balance yet again. He had been busy watching his hair pin gleam in the emperor’s receding hand – Minister Li had given Kouki the set of silver pins on the same night he had announced that he wished to take Kouki as his concubine, and Kouki hoped dearly that he would be able to get the pin back again later – and he was not at all sure how to respond. The statement seemed at odds with the mild way the emperor had addressed him until now. 

“Minister Li has been very kind to me, Your Majesty,” he replied, after some internal debate. “I am very fortunate.” 

The emperor made a noise of consideration – not, Kouki noted nervously, approval - as he continued to study Kouki closely. “Take off your clothes, Guangji,” he said at last.

_Oh_. Kouki’s heart sank, his stomach twisting in dismay. A part of him had wondered from the beginning if this was the way things would go – Kouki was well aware of how many at court watched him, or whispered jealously when Minister Li could not hear – but he had hoped… The emperor had more than enough beautiful, well-mannered concubines of his own, surely. Why did he want Kouki?

Where _is Minister Li?_ Kouki bit down on the inside of his cheek until the pain cleared the useless question from his mind, and began to undo the fastenings of his cape. 

There was a large bed – as ornate and expensive-looking as everything else Kouki had laid eyes on so far – to one side of the room, and the emperor settled himself down on the edge of it as he watched Kouki undress. He did not say a single word, but his stare was so intense that Kouki feared he could see the way Kouki’s hands trembled, no matter how hard he tried to control them.

_You can bear this_ , he told himself as each layer came away. _You have done all sorts of things in your life so far. You have survived worse things than this, surely._

Two years had passed since Kouki, then only a humble clerk’s assistant on a trading vessel from the eastern islands, had first encountered Minister Li. In the time since then, he had mastered the language and customs of his new home, as well as the etiquette of the imperial court, but nothing he had learned had prepared him at all for this. For a time, he was absurdly paralyzed over what to do with his discarded clothing – would the emperor think Kouki was being too slow if he took the time to fold each item carefully, or would it be disgracefully rude if he was too sloppy? – but in the end, he found a compromise that felt safe enough. The remaining silver hair pins, as well as the few other ornaments and jewels he had worn to the palace, he lined up neatly where he hoped they would not attract any further attention. 

When it was finished, he stood naked before the emperor, his hands at his sides and his hair falling loose past his shoulders. He kept his eyes trained respectfully towards the floor. It helped, somewhat.

The emperor rose to his feet again, and walked around Kouki in a slow, appraising circle. 

“No wonder Li is so slow-witted,” he said at last. “He surely gets no sleep at all, if you share his bed every night.” 

“Your Majesty,” Kouki whispered, bobbing his head in numb agreement. It felt unnervingly wrong to hear the emperor speak so vulgarly, like watching an animal walk towards you on two legs. 

Instead of taking him on the bed, the emperor had Kouki crouch over the small writing desk. Waiting while the other man readied himself was a new sort of torment entirely, but Kouki did not dare steal a glimpse over his shoulder at whatever was taking place behind him.

There was no warning when the emperor covered him at last, only a sudden silk-covered weight against his back – it felt as if the emperor had done no more than undo his clothes the barest minimum necessary – and a hot pressure at his entrance. The emperor’s cock was wet with some kind of oil, mercifully, but Kouki had received no preparation at all, and the emperor felt _large_. A loud, helpless moan slipped from Kouki’s lips despite his best efforts, and the emperor grunted and tugged at his hair. 

At last, the emperor was sheathed within him fully, his large body heavy on top of Kouki’s smaller one. Kouki bit his lip, and willed himself to relax. The task required such deep concentration that he nearly missed it when the emperor spoke again. 

“You…” The emperor’s words had a strained edge to them now, perhaps, but were otherwise as inscrutable as ever. “You are far too good for Li, aren’t you?”

Impossible as it was to choose whether to agree and risk appearing arrogant and disloyal, or to disagree and risk angering the emperor – angering him _now_ , of all moments – it was relief when the emperor began to move without waiting for Kouki’s reply. 

In the past, when Kouki had accompanied Minister Li to certain distinctly unofficial gatherings, he had sometimes heard bold jokes about how the emperor would wield his “sword” for the empress and imperial concubines as fiercely as his army wielded their own swords against anyone who would threaten his lands. It was, Kouki discovered now, no joke at all. The emperor speared deep within him with each thrust, and Kouki could quickly feel his hips beginning to bruise both in front, where he was knocked against the edge of the desk, and at his sides, where the emperor gripped him when he was not nudging Kouki to meet him at a more pleasing angle, or yanking Kouki’s head back by his hair. Kouki was not accustomed to such treatment – Minister Li could be clumsy at the height of his passion, but he was never rough, never _cruel_ – but he learned quickly that wincing or crying out too sharply did not please the emperor. 

At some point, Kouki realized that Minister Li’s writing tools still sat on the desk just in front of his face, the brushes rolling slightly as the desk rocked back and forth. He cut himself off quickly from too many thoughts of Minister Li – sitting by Kouki’s side, smiling encouragingly as Kouki struggled to practice the characters that he had not fully learned even in his native language – but a distraction would be welcome now…

_“One” is “yī”,_ he counted inside his head. " _Two" becomes “Èr”, and “three” is…_

The emperor’s hips collided with his, for the third time since he had begun the recitation. 

_No numbers._ “ _Ship” is “chuán”. Kouki is Guangji. “Man” is…_

It seemed to take an age, but at last the emperor reached his end, pulling out as he did so that his seed covered Kouki’s thighs as well as filling his hole. Kouki forced himself not to grimace as he shuffled on his knees until he could glimpse the emperor at last. The older man’s faced was flushed with satiation, and his hair and robes were in lewd disarray. The sight of him did not provoke any particular emotion in Kouki, except for relief that it was over. 

But the emperor only moved to sit on the bed again, and beckoned Kouki. 

_“Endure” is…_ Kouki could not remember how best to translate that word, but he was able to rise and limp to the bed without falling over, at least. 

“Do you think that is enough?” The emperor’s voice and movements were languid now. The fine embroidered robe had been pushed up, and Kouki could see the emperor’s cock, red and limp, beneath its hem. 

Why couldn’t he simply demand what he wanted, instead of turning everything into a game of riddles that Kouki could never win? Kouki felt briefly very close to crying out of sheer frustration. 

It took some time before the emperor was ready again, though Kouki worked him diligently with his hand, and did not flinch as the emperor ran his fingers through Kouki’s hair and pressed his tongue wetly into Kouki’s mouth. Perhaps that was why the emperor was gentler when he entered Kouki a second time, keeping Kouki on his back and forcing him to wrap his legs about the emperor as he continued to kiss and pet Kouki. This time, the emperor withdrew in time to rearrange their positions hurriedly and finish across Kouki’s chest and face. 

“Do not clean yourself,” he ordered Kouki later. Kouki was not sure exactly how much time had passed. He had not yet found the energy to rise but the emperor had made himself nearly presentable already. “Do not leave these chambers.” 

“Your Imperial Majesty,” Kouki mouthed obediently, and closed his eyes as he listened to the sounds of emperor moving about the room, until at last the door was opened and then closed again. 

The passage of time seemed to grow even more unreliable after that, but as the light was just starting to fade, and Kouki’s stomach was growing insistently hollow, the door opened again. Kouki did not look – his eyes were half-focused on the painted screen that stood to one side of the bed, an intricate nature scene he had nearly memorized by now – but he knew, even before he heard Minister Li’s sharp gasp.

“Oh, Kouki!”

Kouki curled in on himself – this was not the way he wanted to greet Minister Li, he had put so much care into choosing his clothes and arranging his hair earlier in the day – but he could not resist as familiar hands carefully turned him over, lifted his chin. When at last he saw Minister Li’s face, the expression of horror there was so overwhelming that Kouki had to look away again immediately. 

As he did, he saw the dying evening light glisten off of something clenched tightly in Minister Li’s fist. It was Kouki’s silver hair pin, the one adorned with tiny gems. 

Kouki doubled over. He heard Minister Li’s voice rise, alarmed, but for a time he could not comprehend the words. 

“…My poor Kouki, my Guangji. I’ll take care of you, don’t worry...” 

Minister Li fumbled about the room – again, Kouki listened to the man’s movements without trying to turn and watch him – before returning to Kouki’s side. When he began to slide his arms carefully beneath Kouki’s legs and shoulders, Kouki tried to protest – Minister Li’s robes would be soiled, and Kouki had been lying down for such a long time that he was surely ready to walk again – but the words would not come out properly, and Minister Li misunderstood. “Does that hurt? You can rest soon, Kouki, but we – we need to clean you first. I’ll be very careful, I promise.”

There was a blanket on the floor now. Minister Li set Kouki down upon it and hurried off again, returning a moment later with a damp cloth. When he began to wipe the emperor’s seed from Kouki’s face, his movements were slow and cautious, and Kouki could see the cloth tremble in the man’s hands. Kouki looked away again and caught his first clear glimpse of his own hips and thighs, bruised like overripe fruit and even messier than his face. 

Minister Li fell silent as he worked. His hands shook but never faltered, not even as he began to tend to the lower portion of Kouki’s body. Kouki had never seen the man spend any time on menial chores, but now he crouched on the floor with the sleeves of his fine court robes pushed back as if he were a servant, giving each mark or drop of filth the painstaking attention he usually reserved for the most critical official documents. 

When that was done at last, Minister Li wrapped Kouki in one of his clean inner robes and helped him walk back to the bed, cooing reassurances with each shaky step. The blanket that the emperor and Kouki had dirtied had been removed at some point – had Minister Li, who did not like to take his own shoes off by himself if they were too muddy, done that, too? – and what was left was smooth and spotless. Minister Li’s robe was too large for Kouki, and when Kouki buried his face in it, he thought that he could smell the flowers that bloomed outside their home in the countryside. 

A hand brushed against his hair. Kouki cringed away.

“Oh,” Minister Li said. He stood next to the bed, his hand still hovering awkwardly in the air. “I…I am sorry. I did not mean to…” His voice trailed off. “I am so sorry, Kouki,” he repeated at last. “Forgive me.” 

It was so dark now that Kouki could not make out his face clearly, but the minister’s voice sounded so sad and empty that it made Kouki’s heart hurt worse than any of the places where he was bruised. As Minister Li started to turn away, shoulders slumped, Kouki reached out just quickly enough to catch hold of his robes. 

“Wait,” he croaked. 

It was the most he had spoken in some time, and his voice sounded like that of a bedridden old man. But it did not matter. Minister Li climbed onto the bed, still dressed in all his most formal clothes, and arranged himself so that Kouki could lean his head against his chest the way they often rested at home. Darkness covered the room like a thick cloak, and Kouki was bone-tired. With his lover’s arms wrapped around him, it did not take long at all before he surrendered to sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> A note on the main character's name: This story has a (vague) historical Chinese setting, and our protagonist's name is written 光伎 and read "Guangji" in Chinese or "Kouki" in Japanese. This is just something that popped into my mind as I was brainstorming possible settings and scenarios, and I couldn't resist including it even though it doesn't really have anything to do with the actual story. Apologies for any glaring linguistic or cultural errors.


End file.
